Forty-sixth Pope: Hilarius - 0 comments
Hilarius, I have to say, has a great name, and some really cool manuscript portraits to draw from. Way to go, Mr. Pope.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Hilarius, I have to say, has a great name, and some really cool manuscript portraits to draw from. Way to go, Mr. Pope.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Forty-fifth Pope: Leo I - 0 comments
Leo the First's portrait actually spelled "LEO MAGNUS" out in mosaic tiles.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Forty-fourth Pope: Sixtus III - 0 comments
I'm really liking the Sixtuses; they've got really evocative portraits to draw from. Sixtus III was responsible for building quite a few nice churches and monuments in Rome, including some major fund-raising for St. Peter's.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Forty-third Pope: Celestine I - 0 comments
Celestine sent St. Patrick to Ireland as a missionary. Does that make him somehow responsible for green beer?
Forty-second Pope: Boniface I - 1 comments
Boniface I began his papacy at the same time as his anti-pope, Eulialius. He lived at the same time as St. Ausgustine, and fought against the Pelagian heresy. His neck was probably not this wide in real life, however.
Forty-first Pope: Zosima - 0 comments
Zosima's portrait is a bit like a subway map of himself; all parallel lines and controlled angles.
Fortieth Pope: Innocent I - 0 comments
What you see here is the beginning of a trend. Or is it a mystery? The Innocents do not very innocent. In fact, I think they look decidedly Guilty.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Thirty-seventh Pope: Damasus I - 0 comments
Damasus I is one of my favorite Popes yet. How about that hat, ladies & gentlemen? And not every Pope can look so cool with a square beard.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Thirty-fourth Pope: Mark - 0 comments
Why does Pope Mark look like Coca Cola's version of Santa Claus? I don't know, really. But I have a couple of theories:
1. I'm starting on the popes that oversaw the fall of the roman empire, and after that the 'dark ages.' The portraits that are available for me to draw from are getting pretty spares, and often I'm working from a small, blurry image of a mosaic. I end up making a few of the facial details up, or at least inferring them from the mosaic work.
2. Or maybe I'm just feeling the late fall chill - which in Hong Kong is 70 degrees at night. Brr!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Thirty-third Pope: Sylvester I - 0 comments
Sylvester was known as Constantine's Pope. Yes, that Constantine, who converted on a battlefield and effectively legalized Christianity.
This blind contour was worth a 2-page spread in the sketchbook. That's Sylvester on the left, blessing the battle-hardened Constantine on the right. Followers of both men look on from behind, with dubious looks on ther faces, as if they're not sure how this whole church-state thing is going to work out.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Twenty-seventh Pope: Eutychian - 0 comments
Eutychian's burial place is somewhat famous - he was buried in the Crypt of Callixtus.
Twenty-sixth Pope: Felix I - 0 comments
Felix I set down the laws regarding consecration of churches. Neat.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Friday, November 03, 2006
Double Dose! Twenty-fourth Pope: Sixtus II - 0 comments
OK, so the portrait of Sixtus II that I drew from was so compelling, I had to draw him twice.
and
Sixtus II was one of the first martyrs of the Valerian persecutions, also beheaded.
and
Sixtus II was one of the first martyrs of the Valerian persecutions, also beheaded.
Twenty-third Pope: Stephen I - 0 comments
Stephen I is traditionally a martyr, although with a name like that, he probably saw it coming.
Twenty-second Pope: Lucius I - 0 comments
Another short term pope - this time only eight months. The papacy was a tough position at the time, because Christians were still being actively persecuted by the Roman Empire.
Twenty-first Pope: Cornelius - 0 comments
Cornelius was opposed by the anti-pope Novatian. I think he looks a little too jaunty here, with his hunting horn and his big grin, to be too concerned.
Twentieth Pope: Fabian - 0 comments
Fabian was chosen to be Pope when a crowd of Christians gathered in Rome after the death of Anterus. A dove landed on his head, which effectively ended the discussion.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Nineteenth Pope: Anterus - 0 comments
Anterus held the papacy for only one month and ten days! Then he died.
Eighteenth Pope: Pontian - 5 comments
Despite what my drawing implies, Pontian was not a dwarf king. Seriously. Don't believe the rumors.
Seventeenth Pope: Urban I - 1 comments
The patronage of St. Urban (the first) is invoked against storms and lightning - or so says Wikipedia.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Sixteenth Pope: Callixtus I - 0 comments
Callixtus reigned for five years, and then was martyred in a 'popular uprising.' Traditionally, he was thrown down a well!